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Oil eases as Washington pauses secondary tariffs over Russian energy
- US-Russia Sanctions and Secondary Tariffs: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed on 18 October that Washington has invoked a 60-day pause on implementing the Graham Act, suspending planned 100 per cent secondary tariffs on the five largest buyers of Russian crude, including China and India. Bessent stated that only the US embargo on Russian diesel was lifted, unlocking an initial 300,000 tonnes of Russian fuel for global markets while blaming European allies for refusing to join coordinated tariffs on Asian importers.
- Global Crude Markets and Gulf Shipping: Brent crude fell 1.3 per cent in early Asian trading on 19 October to $108.43 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate slipped 0.52 per cent to $100.88 following the US sanctions waiver. Prices remain heavily elevated due to Middle East maritime disruptions, with Kpler data showing Gulf crude flows dropped to a seven-day average of 8.5 million barrels per day from over 20 million the previous week after at least 10 vessel attacks.
- Critical Minerals Value Chains: Six major multilateral lenders, including the World Bank and the African and Asian Development Banks, published a joint framework over the weekend to finance domestic mineral processing, refining, and manufacturing in developing economies. The initiative aims to shift mineral-rich Global South nations beyond raw extraction by co-financing power, transport, and logistics corridors tied to low-carbon industrial supply chains.
- IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings: The 2026 IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings concluded in Bangkok on 18 October without new debt-relief mechanisms for developing nations facing war-driven fuel inflation and high borrowing costs. While the IMF reported that Asian economies generated a record 68 per cent of global growth in 2026, its World Economic Outlook urged governments worldwide to tighten fiscal policy and end broad cost-of-living subsidies.